ESPN+

The dominant premium sports streaming service in the U.S., backed by Disney's first-party data and ad tech infrastructure

ESPN+ is The Walt Disney Company's sports streaming service, originally launched in April 2018 as a complementary digital sports platform offering content not available on the linear ESPN cable networks. In August 2025, ESPN made a landmark shift by launching a standalone direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming product at $29.99/month that brings the full linear ESPN channel experience to cord-cutters, marking one of the most significant transitions in sports media history. The service carries live sports including MLB, NHL, UFC, college football and basketball, La Liga, and thousands of other events annually, alongside original programming and ESPN's signature studio shows. From an advertising perspective, ESPN+ represents one of the most coveted premium video inventory environments in the streaming landscape. With Disney's advanced advertising infrastructure — including Disney Advertising's first-party data capabilities, programmatic access via Disney's private marketplace, and addressable ad products — ESPN+ offers brands the ability to reach highly engaged, sports-passionate audiences at scale. The launch of the full DTC ESPN product dramatically expands the addressable ad-supported audience, as linear ESPN viewers who previously could only be reached via traditional cable are now accessible through streaming ad tech. ESPN+ competes directly with other sports streaming services such as Peacock (NBC Sports), Paramount+ (CBS Sports), Amazon Prime Video (Thursday Night Football), and Apple TV+ (MLS Season Pass). Its integration within the Disney bundle — alongside Disney+ and Hulu — gives it unique cross-platform audience reach and bundled advertising opportunities. For advertisers and agencies, ESPN+ is a critical buy in any sports-focused connected TV or streaming video strategy, offering premium contextual alignment, live sports adjacency, and Disney's robust audience targeting stack.